Grate cleaning mechanism for looms



Nov. 28, 1933. F, D. HERRING GRTEv CLEANING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed July 20, 1932 M W Y m0 Patented Nov. 28, 1933 AGRATE CLEANING MECHANISM FOR LOOM Frank D. Herring, Talladega, Aia., assignory mf Draper Corporation, Hopedale, Mass., a corpo-y y 4 ration of Maine .Application July 20,1932. serial Naczaio 4 oiaims.,'(c1.'13e -377 The present` invention relates to looms' andy more especially to improvedmeans for preventing certainhimperfections kin cloth, known as thinV places, during the process of weaving..

A ,primary object ofthe' present invention is to provide a new 'and improved 'nlling' motion hook which has associated with it means that coact with the Aloo-p detector for maintaining. thek filling grate clean of lint, waste, strings or otherY foreign matter, thus insuring anefcient operation ofthe loom and preventing thin places being formed in` thecloth during the process of weav-4 mg A further object comprehends the' provision of simple, encient and economical means for preventing the accumulation of foreign matten'in the filling grate, therebyeliminating the necessity of requiring the grate .being periodically cleaned or brushed. f l

Otherv objects and -advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following de# scription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying claims and drawing. Y

Referring to the/drawing, in which is' shown a that the bar ,20 acts as a support or rest piece for 'thehook 17 during the movement of the parts when the lom isin operation. y f

Theupper surface of the hook 17 is preferably formed with a substantially straight longitudinal` Iii". portion 21, which terminates in an upwardly projecting. shoulderl or hook 22 that inturn extends downwardly as at 23; The inclined` portion'r23l terminatesV at the free orouter end of Vthe hook at a'point below the longitudinal portion 21.*V vvA 655,

yieldable member in the form of a spring 24 isv preferably connected Vto 4the. upper surface ofthe hook 17 bythe screw`r25. (Fig. 3)? andrmay.' be formed with a loopA or curvedfportion'26, which.

has an outwardly inclined arm 27,'bent Vas at'28;V 7 9@ A toengage yieldably the. adjacent end or corner 29 of the uppersurface of the hook. The .free end 30 of the spring mayrextend below the hook-17 so as to terminate in a flange 31.

A illing'fork grate 32 provided with the spaced openings 33' may be connected to the bracket 34' ner such as'by the' screw 34 (Fig..2) so aste be movable with thebeam 35-when the lay beats up.v

Thedetector' 13 `has' its depending'pron'gs orlgtines 7810:,

36 arranged 'to move within the'openings `v33-of the grate 32 when the vweft thread 37 '(Fig. 1):Y is not present. -The loop38 of th'edetectorridesupon the upper surface'of' the hook 1.7,.soasto assume the position as shown in full lines in Fig- 85 preferred embodiment of the invention,

. Figure 1 ,is a side elevation partly insectionA of a filling fork-slide and its associated parts with my invention applied thereto and with the slide v inits detecting position. I Y

Figure 2 is a view similar toyFigure 1,: with the parts moved to their non-detecting position.'

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective View of my improved filling motion hook and its connection with the detector loop. `j

, Referring to the drawing in which like numerals indicate like parts in the several views,A 10v designates a stand or support which is vfixedly connected to aportion of the loom such as the breast-beam (not shown). Slidably mounted on the stand 10 isthe filling fork-slide 11 that has a forked extension 12 between the arms of which is connected the filling fork loop detector 13 by the pin,14. i

A vibrating actuator 15 in the form of a weft slot llhaving an entrance opening 19, so as mov-` ably to receive the cross-bar 20 connected to the forked arms ofthe extension 12. V,1t will be seen ure 1, when vthe parts are in their detecting posi-' tion and be moved to the position as shown in Figure 2, when the parts are moved to their nondetecting position.

As isV customary in the `fact that theprongs lcannot enter intothe openings 33 of the grate32, since the'` thread is drawn across thegrate I between the grate and' .1;19

n, prongs. Thisltiltin'gv of the detector moves` the loop 38 upwardly out of'engagement withthe shoulder 22, so as to cause it `to assume the dotted'V line position, as shownin Figure 1,l thereby allowcutting the loomoff, in a manner well known tothosc skilled in the'art. V

f WhenV the loop 38 is in Adetecting positionyas 10.5 j 'shown in fullV lines in Figure 1, it is @inthe path of the shoulder 22 and the .spring 24 .yieldably` engages theouter end of the hook .i asiat y29: If

the weft thread37 is present, that is to say isnotv t broken or run out, the movement of the grate32 11,0

theycperation of devices ofv this character, when the prongs 36 `detect by the weft thread 37, the detector 13 is tilted du`.e.to

towards the filling fork, prongs 36 moves the weft thread 37 against thevprongs, thus preventing the latter from entering into the openings 33, thereby moving the detector 13 toits'dot d line tion, as shown in Figure l, wl alows com tinued operation of the loom without replenish` rile ing of the weft thread in the shuttle. @n other hand, if the weft thread is not present adjacent the Vgrate 32, the fork prongs 35 pass intoV the openings 33,'thus allowing the loop 33 to re-V main in engagement with the shoulder 22 of the hook 1'7, so as to put into operation the mechaenism to either replenish the weft thread or stop Y the loom. Devices of ythis character heretofore were supported at a lower level. the inclined upper surface 23 on which the loop Vassumes on the detecting stroke' (Fig. 1).

14 @0% aflorar.

asthin places in the cloth during the weavingY process which materially lower the quality value of the woven fabric. Y

- In order to Qvercomethedeficiencies of devices and of this characteras heretofore made and to in? sure the fabric or cloth beingfornied free from thin placesI have provided a novel filling motion hook 1'7 andhave associated with the' hook `a yieldable member 24..-which'co-acts with the loop `38 of the detector 13, to force theA prongs36an appreciable distance .within the openings'33 of the grate 32 on the non-detecting ory backward stroke of the weft hammer l5, as shown in Figure 2 in .order to maintain the grate openings Y 32 clean and free from obstructions such as lint, Y waste, string and the like.

yIt will be noted that the formationv or design of theVv hook 17 isjsubstantially differentv from Ysimilar types as heretofore made, in that it is thicker or widerY at therpoint where the loop 38 'rests against the shoulder 22 when in detecting position (Fig.` 1), thereby holdingY or supporting the loop 38 on a higher level in its detecting position than the hooks heretofore employed. By reason of the raising or elevating of the supporting plane for the loop 38 when the parts are in their detecting position as shown in full lines in Figure 1, the prongs 36 will not project as far into the grate 32 as they would if the loop 38 Additionally,

38 rests at the end of the non-detecting stroke (Fig. 2) is shaped to allow the loop 38 to drop to a lowerlevel at this point than that which it other words, the portionl 29 of the hook is below `theflevel or planeV ofthestraight portion 21,Y

thereby allowing the prongs 36 normally toproject farther into the openings 33 vof the-grate than has heretofore beenpossible. It will be seen A[that due to the farther advancement o f the.

prongs 36 into the openings 33 that means are provided for moving or knocking clear any obstructions that might collect therein and would tend, if not removed, to interfere with the erlicient operation of the loom on thenext or detecting stroke.- i

When the parts are in the positionas shown in Figure 2, the portion 28 of the spring 24 presses Inv 38 from moving under and riding onfthe upper surface of the spring 24 when the shuttlecontacts with the prongs 36.

' It will, therefore, be seen that by reason of the present invention the filling motion hook 17 and the detector 13 have associated therewith means operating on each alternate, non-detecting pick within the openings 33 of the grate 32,* thus preventing the collection of lint, waste',.strings or other foreign mater on4 the grate and eliminateY the spring 24 actsvvas a catch to prevent the loop 'for forcing the prongs an appreciable distance '95 l ing the necessity of periodically cleaning orlbrushing the grateas has heretofore been necessary.

-Additionally, by providing means for preventing thinplaces being formed inthe cloth during the weaving process the woven fabric will be of more uniform .and better quality. r It is to be understood that the form'of the invention shownand described ismerely illustrative of a .preferred embodiment and `that such changes maybe made as fall within the purview of one skilled in the art without departing from the. spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Iclaimrl'. Y 1.. A thin place v"preventing mechanism for looms having inV combination a stand connected to the loom, Va filling fork-slide mounted on 'the stand and having a forked extension connected by a cross-bar, a detector pivotally connected to the end of the extension, said detector having depending prongs anda laterally extending loop, a movable filling 'grate associated with the detector and arranged to receive said prongs, a weft hammer' projecting through 'theV fork-fslide extension and having a filling motion hook pivotally 'I connected thereto, said hook having an elongated opening for receivingsaid cross-bar to movably support the hook within the fork-slidasaid hook V having its upper surface formed with'a shoulder portion and 'a rearwardly inclinedportion, the loop `of said detector arranged to engage the upperA surface of said hook, and yieldable means connected to said hook and arranged to engage .said loop during each alternate, non-detecting pick'whereby, the loop is yieldably moved to a lower level during each of said non-detecting picks than it occupies during the detecting picks.

2. A thin place. preventing mechanismfor looms havingin combination a rstand connected to the loom, a filling fork-slide mounted on the stand and having a forked extension connected by a cross-bar, a detector pivotally connected to the end of the extension, said detector having depending prongs and a laterally extending loop, a

. Y 1,987,082 loop of said detector arranged to engage the up-V per surface of said hook, and spring means connected to said hook and arranged to `engage said loop when said hook is in its non-detecting position whereby to move the fork prongs an appreciable distance within the grate to keep the grate openings free from obstructions.

3. A thin place preventing mechanism forlooms having in combination a stand connected to the loom, a llingfork-slide. mounted on the stand and having a forked extension connected Vby a cross-bar, a detector pvotally connected to otally connected thereto, said hook having an elongated opening for receiving said cross-bar to movably support the hook within the fork-slide, said hook having its upper( surface formed with a shoulder portion and a rearwardly inclined portion, the loop of said detector arranged to engage the upper surface of said hook, a. spring i connectedvto the upper surface of said hook atthe forward end thereof and extending upwardly and downwardly over the opposite end, said spring arranged to engage said loop when the said hook is` in its non-detecting position for moving the filling fork prongs into the, grate .openings to Vprevent foreign matter lfrom collecting thereon. i

4. A lling motion hook for looms arranged to be operatively associated with a'lling fork loop detector, vsaid hookhavingits upper sur-l face provided with a substantially straight longi- 1 tudinal portion and a downwardly inclined portion, said portions being' connected by an u'p-v wardly projecting shoulder, the loop of the detector arranged to engage saidupper surface, and

yieldable means connected to said hookand enf vgaging one end thereof to move said loop during each alternate,` non-detecting pick to a lower ing picks.. l Y

FRANK D.HERRIN G f 'lilloifue" c l1 *20 125l 9i l levelthan'the loop occupies during the detect-A 

